


Betrayals

by ReyNimanSolo



Category: Rey/Hux/Ren, Reylo - Fandom, Reylux - Fandom, Reyux - Fandom, Star Wars Freeform - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, kylux - Fandom
Genre: And Culminating with Reylo, F/M, Fighting As Foreplay, Followed by Reylux, Hux Is In Over His Head, It Starts With Reyux, Jealousy, Love Triangle, M/M, Obsession, Power Struggle, Slow Burn, Sprinkled with Kylux, Who's playing who?, domination and submission, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-08-14 12:33:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16492694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyNimanSolo/pseuds/ReyNimanSolo
Summary: After their defeat on Crait, Hux’s plan to tame Kylo Ren’s frequent and unpredictable outbursts by returning the girl to him takes an unexpected turn when Rey draws him into a high-stakes game of deceit and undeniable attraction.A Reyux inside of a Reylux inside of a Reylo wherein Rey becomes Hux's greatest indulgence and Kylo Ren is a glorious hot mess of his own conflicting desires.~*~Update: 01.10.19 — Retcon is live.Update: 11.05.18 — I feel a retcon coming on. Starting at Chapter 10. I'll let you know when it drops so stay tuned...





	1. Betrayals: A Certain Point of View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘You still want to kill me?’ 
> 
> In the vid, Ren’s voice is tinged with awe.
> 
> Strange, Hux thinks. Doesn’t Ren assume everyone wants to kill him? Isn’t that his whole fucking point?
> 
> ‘That’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask,’ she spits.
> 
> Hux sits up a little straighter. Such sass! He has a feeling he is about to watch something immensely satisfying.

If Hux thought Ren unstable before, now he is positively unhinged. 

The girl. Always the girl. 

She’s done something to Ren and Hux means to pour every resource he has available into finding out exactly what.

It had started at the Battle of Takodana. Of course, it had. Where else than during a disgusting misuse of First Order resources. Ren and his fucking _obsessions_.

Hux hurries down the corridors as quickly as is befitting a General. Upon arriving at the holovid archive room, Hux orders all the petty officers out, claiming he’s there for an unscheduled inspection of their work, which is only partly true. The inspection is legitimate, Hux has seen to that, but it is not the real reason for his being here.

He’s come for the vid file of Ren interrogating the scavenger girl after he took her hostage. It wouldn’t do to get what Hux needs through proper channels. His method will leave a false trail and no one will be the wiser.

He seals the door and sits at one of the main terminals. His fingers move across the screen until he locates the proper file and transfers a copy to his datapad. He quickly erases the audit log then goes to work.

In typical Hux fashion, he makes sure to complete his inspection, finding five separate violations that need attention. 

Back on the bridge, the rest of his shift seems to drag on with agonising slowness despite the unceasing flurry of activity around him.

When at last he is free to go, Hux skips the officers’ lounge and heads straight for his quarters.

With fingers that shake only slightly, Hux calls up the vid file.

His screen goes dark for a moment, then resolves into the harsh lines of a room Hux is intimately familiar with. Though not part of his normal assignment as General, Hux often finds himself there coaxing information from unwilling guests. Not only does he derive great pleasure from the act, he’s found, to his surprise, that he is exceedingly good at it.

Hux’s eyebrows knit together as he stares at the screen.

Strapped into the chair, the girl lays limp, still under whatever spell Ren had cast upon her. And Ren, just crouched there staring up at her through that ridiculous mask he insists on wearing. 

Hux glances at the vid’s running time and realises he might be in for a long wait. As tempting as it is to skip forward, Hux is nothing if he isn’t thorough. When the girl jumps and comes to, Hux jumps with her, surprised by her sudden movement after so much stillness.

Heart pounding, he pauses the vid and notes the timestamp. 

The tremble in his fingers intensifies. He presses play.

_Like all prisoners who’ve awoken in her place, she first tries to understand, her eyes finding the bindings that lock her in place. Her next focus, Ren._

_‘Where am I?’ she asks._

The tremble in her voice sends a thrill down Hux’s spine.

_‘You’re my guest,” comes Ren’s reply._

_Bastard!_ He’s stolen Hux’s favourite line.

Hux is surprised by what the girl does next. She asks about the welfare of her friends. Ren’s reply about murderers, traitors, and thieves is as ridiculous as the man himself. The interrogator in Hux bristles with agitation when Ren finishes by telling her he doesn’t know where her friends are.

_‘You still want to kill me?’_

Ren’s voice is tinged with awe.

Strange, Hux thinks. Doesn’t Ren assume everyone wants to kill him? Isn’t that his whole fucking _point_?

_‘That’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask,’ she spits, the fear gone from her voice._

Hux sits up a little straighter. Such sass! He has a feeling he is about to watch something immensely satisfying.

He takes a sip of his brandy and waits. His eyes widen. 

_Ren places his gloved hands on either side of his mask. It hisses as the servomotors unlock him from its hold. The fallen One rises as he pulls it free, baring his face to the girl._

The brandy in Hux’s mouth sprays out, burning his nose and coating his screen and uniform in fine golden droplets. He jams his finger on the screen to pause the vid. Hux pounds his chest with a closed fist, trying to clear the offending liquid from his lungs.

He uses his sleeve to clear the glass of his datapad. Hux’s screen is frozen on the unmasked face of Kylo Ren. Shock makes Hux draw in a sharp breath. It isn’t that he’s never seen Ren without his mask before. He has. He’s just never seen him like this. 

The dossier Hux keeps on Ren is full of photographs of the man without his mask however they are all institutional archive photos, carefully choreographed to impart the proper sense of power and order.

But this? Nothing like this. His only thought is how beautiful Ren’s face is. It’s unnatural. Hux feels the traitorous coil of attraction slithering in his belly. 

He quashes it with the realisation that this answers the question of why he found Ren in Snoke’s assembly chamber without his mask just prior to the destruction of the Hosnian System. He takes the time to make a note of both the timestamp and his observation.

Hux takes one last look at Ren then starts the vid.

After a pause during which the girl assesses Ren, he walks to his pathetic table of ashes and slams the helmet into the dust of his enemies.

Hux watches as Ren approaches the girl until he’s standing close. The girl refuses to meet his eyes. When Ren asks about the droid, she begins rattling off design specs. Cheeky little thing, this one. Hux admires her spunk. 

Ren monologues about needing the final piece of the map. He manages to insult the girl enough to bring her to tears. 

_‘You know I can take whatever I want.’_

Ren’s voice is arrogant and darkly seductive. Hux is horrified when his cock responds by thickening. He snarls and pushes his palm against his trousers to stifle the feeling.

Ren moves into her personal space, his hand reaching toward the side of her head. He stops short of touching her but he’s so close, surely she must feel his breath on her tear stained cheeks. She’s straining away, as far as her restraints will allow, breath hitching.

_‘You’re so lonely. So afraid to leave.’_

Hux is riveted by the scene playing out in front of him.

_‘At night, desperate to sleep, you imagine an ocean. I see it. I see the island.’_

Hux sees something, too. Hux sees the way Ren is gazing at the girl. He’s seen that look just once before but it's enough to recognise it for exactly what it is. Ren is _enraptured_.

The interrogation continues.

_‘And Han Solo? You feel like he’s the father you never had. He would have disappointed you.’_

Anger has replaced the silky tones of Ren’s voice with sharp edges.

Oh, this is all too good! 

Gleeful, Hux pauses the vid to catch his breath.

The girl had some sort of paternal relationship with Ren’s father. There has to be some leverage in that knowledge. Hux notes it next to his other scribbles.

_‘Get out of my head!’_

The girl snarls at him and Hux is surprised once again when Ren draws away, standing to his full height. His arm extends toward her face, ready to force her to submit to his demands.

_‘I know you’ve seen it. And now, you’ll give it to me.’_

A low hum begins leaking through the audio and Hux curses the sloppy holovid maintenance standards.

The girl grits her teeth, clearly trying to stave off Ren’s intrusion. He hears metal vibrating as she strains.

The hum grows louder.

_‘Don’t be afraid,’ Ren soothes. ‘I feel it too.’_

Wait. What?

Hux backs it up, unsure if he’s just heard what he thinks he’s heard.

_‘Don’t be afraid,’ Ren soothes. ‘I feel it too.’_

Again.

_‘Don’t be afraid,’ Ren soothes. ‘I feel it too.’_

It’s clear as glass. But what? What does Ren feel that he thinks this girl is also feeling?

_‘I’m not giving you anything,’ She spits the words at him, each one clipped and full of fury._

_‘We’ll see.’ Ren’s arrogance returns, spinning his voice back into silk._

Hux is struck again by Ren’s physical beauty. 

There’s a sudden spike in the audio’s hum that pulls Hux back to the scene. The girl. It’s as though she’s fighting back. The arrogance is gone from Ren’s face, replaced by growing uncertainty. Hux has never seen anything even remotely like it from Ren.

The girl’s eyes darken and her expression hardens. She strains forward almost as though she wants to touch her forehead to Ren’s open, reaching palm. 

The uncertainty in Ren’s eyes is changing, morphing into something else. Something akin to…

_Fear_

Hux is spellbound as he watches Ren begin to shake under the strain of whatever is passing between them.

_‘You! You’re afraid. That you will never be as strong as Darth Vader!’_

There’s a violent snap, like electricity arcing across untamed wires. The hum has disappeared.

The vid plays a few more seconds of Ren’s unsettled face before cutting off.

Hux sits for a moment, staring into the dark glass. His heart is pounding.

A drink. Gods, does he need a drink.

He tosses the datapad aside. With a fresh drink in hand, Hux lights a cigarette and thinks about what he’s just witnessed. And what it means.

What he wants to do is sit back down with the rest of his bottle and rewatch the entire encounter until it’s seared into his mind.

There’s no time for that because there’s so much more to this. Hux knows it. Ren only went insane after their defeat on Crait. What Hux has just discovered is merely the first confrontation between Ren and the girl. He has a growing suspicion there are many more encounters between them. Encounters that culminated in something far larger than her defeat of him on Starkiller.

Hux has work to do. There are hours and hours of more vids he needs to collect and analyse to get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens when I’m stuck on bed rest for two weeks after an unexpected surgery. 
> 
> And, oh, if it isn’t great fun.


	2. Betrayals: Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So far, Hux has isolated five separate encounters between them. He’s learned to look for the signs.
> 
> The one he most wants is the one he can’t find. The need to see what happened in Snoke’s throne room nearly consumes him. So much data was lost during that catastrophe that Hux fears it’s gone forever.
> 
> For now, there are two of the five vids he’s identified that keep him satisfied while he continues his search.
> 
> Starkiller base is the first. Hux loves nothing more than watching and rewatching as the girl, Rey, kicks Ren’s ass. She is a thing of beauty to behold. 
> 
> That she’s woefully untrained is obvious. Her lack of discipline annoys Hux. Her potential, though. To Hux it appears limitless. But only if she learns from the right hands. 
> 
> His hands. Not Ren’s.
> 
> His

Over the next two standard weeks, Hux quietly downloads the vids he needs. The little sleep he used to get has been supplanted by combing over each frame, looking for more clues. When he finds them, he captures the entire sequence to his personal server before making them disappear from the main archives.

So far, Hux has isolated five separate encounters between them. He’s learned to look for the signs.

The one he most wants is the one he can’t find. The need to see what happened in Snoke’s throne room nearly consumes him. So much data was lost during that catastrophe that Hux fears it’s gone forever.

For now, there are two of the five vids he’s identified that keep him satisfied while he continues his search.

Starkiller base is the first. Hux loves nothing more than watching and rewatching as the girl, Rey, kicks Ren’s ass. She is a thing of beauty to behold.

That she’s woefully untrained is obvious. Her lack of discipline annoys Hux. Her potential, though. To Hux it appears limitless. But only if she learns from the right hands.

 _His_ hands. Not Ren’s.

_His_

Hux smiles, eyes cold.

The second vid is entirely different from the first.

He calls up the footage.

Ren in his quarters in nothing but his leggings.

Hux still catches his breath each time Ren turns even though he's watched it countless times. It's as simple as the fact that Ren half undressed is a stunning sight. He’s breathtaking in his physicality.

Hux listens in again on the bizarre one-sided conversation.

_Yeah...me, too_

_I didn’t hate him_

_Why what?_

_Why what? Say it!_

_No? Your parents threw you away like garbage?_

_They did! But you can’t stop needing them. It’s your greatest weakness. Looking for them everywhere. In Han Solo. Now in Skywalker. Did he tell you what happened that night?_

_No_

_He had sensed my power, as she senses yours. And he feared it._

_Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. It’s the only way to become what you were meant to be._

Hux has pieced together that Ren appears to be speaking with Rey. The mentions of Solo and Skywalker confirm his assumption. Beyond that Hux is left with more questions than answers.

Ren seems to think the scavenger girl had been tossed aside like all the other space trash rotting on Jakku. Her trail will likely end up as one dead-end after another. There is no such thing as recordkeeping on that worthless spit of sand she calls home. He’s already started digging, nonetheless.

While these are both solid avenues of discovery, what interests Hux most as he watches the vid is Ren's demeanour. The only possible word to describe him is calm and that's something Ren never is.

For that alone, Hux needs to find the girl and bring her to Ren because Hux needs Ren to calm the fuck down. He needs to find the girl before Ren destroys everything in his path.

Hux doesn't see how that’s possible. Ren clearly has some strange connection to her that Hux will never have. No, there must be another way.

In the end, it's the audio signature he's learned to look for that gives him the final pieces he needs.

The beginning and end of each connection they share gives off the same sound signature. Hux uses the signature to search for other encounters. He's pleased with his efficiency. It's given him back some time to sleep.

His persistence pays off at last and he is rewarded with two more pieces.

The first is another connection, this one on Ren's personal stardeck aboard the doomed _Finalizer_.

_Why is the force connecting us, you and I?_

_Did he tell you what happened? The night I destroyed his temple. Did he tell you why?_

_You do? Oh, you do._

_You have that look in your eyes, from the forest. When you called me a monster_

_Yes I am_

Hux makes a note to rewatch their confrontation on Starkiller with a critical eye to pinpoint the moment the girl calls Ren a monster. Hux wants to see the look in her eyes for himself.

It's also the second reference Ren has made to the night he turned. Another place to unearth Ren's secrets.

But best of all, Hux thinks he's unlocked a key piece of information. The signature. It's changed since Crait. It starts the same then abruptly cuts off. Almost as if...as if she's blocking him.

Heat blooms in his belly. Hux isolates the new sound and dumps it into the search algorithm. Four instances ping back within seconds. A quick scan of the vids shows Ren, clearly furious, after each occurrence of this new signature.

Another piece snaps into place. Hux knows for certain without having to check the official records ( _though he will when time permits because he’s Hux_ ) that Ren proceeds to destroy whatever room he finds himself in after each one of these events.

The girl has cut off their communication!

Now Hux has something he can work with. Ren isn't the only one who knows how to find tiny hidden things that don't want to be found.

Hux discovers himself with a new advantage. Ren's arrogance and faith in his powers means he's woefully out of his element now that he can't rely on the Force to help him find her.

Hux, on the other hand, knows exactly how and where to start looking.

He leans back in his sofa, the ankle of one boot crossed over his opposite knee.

Satisfied with his progress, Hux allows himself the pleasure of an extra glass of brandy and the services of a petite, dark haired cadet who bears a striking resemblance to Ren's precious little sand rat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux is nothing if he isn’t cunning.


	3. Betrayals: Dirty Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her cheerful humming alerts him to her impending return. 
> 
> Hux swallows hard. He's sweating and the adrenaline has his heart racing. He is entirely focused on what needs to happen next.
> 
> Her door opens, blocking him from her view. 
> 
> He has a brief moment when she shuts the door to see that her arms are full of market bags. 
> 
> She notices him but it's already too late. Hux is up behind her. His gloved hand snakes across her face to cover her mouth and nose, pinching off her air supply. She drops her bags giving Hux the opportunity he needs to clamp his other arm around body, pinning her arms against her sides so he can lift her off her feet.
> 
> She fights and, dear gods, he loves the feel of her struggling against him, her lithe body snaking along his.
> 
> “I'm not here to hurt you,” he hisses in her ear.

Her naivete makes his work so much easier. It's barely a few standard days before he's triangulated her position. 

Hux had expected her to remain with the Resistance making it difficult but not impossible to locate her. But that has turned out not to be the case. Her movements make it apparent that she's skipping across the galaxy. Whether to get away from Ren or because she's in search of something, Hux doesn't know. At this point, it hardly matters.

He tracks her for days, waiting until what seems random becomes a pattern. There's no predicting where she'll land. There’s no pattern in that. At least not one that’s become obvious to Hux yet. What he does know is that she stays exactly three standard days every time she pauses. No more. No less.

All Hux has to do is be patient and wait for her to bounce close enough so he can start the next phase of his plan. In the meantime, there are preparations to be made for her impending arrival.

His opportunity comes three weeks later.

The system he's set up alerts him when she makes landfall. Bakura, located on the isolated edge of the Unknown Regions. It's perfect for Hux's needs. 

She's come close enough to Hux's current station that three days’ time will be just enough for him to get the job done.

He tracks her location even as his personal starcraft heads in her direction. Hux has a week's leave from his assignments. He hopes it is enough. It has to be.

He tracks her to a dubious establishment where credits can be exchanged for a place to sleep. The mere idea of laying himself down where gods knew how many countless others had lain. Hux shudders at the horror of it. The first thing she's going to need from him is a solid scrubbing.

Hux burns two days just following her, trying to find an opening in her movements that will give him his best opportunity. His patience pays off.

On the morning of the third day, Hux waits until she's left for the early market in search of something to eat. It hasn't been lost on him that she never misses an opportunity to eat. He's filed that little gem of information away for use at a more appropriate time.

For now, as soon as she disappears into the heavy crowd, Hux makes his first move. It's laughable how easily Hux is able to gain access to her room. He hasn't even needed to bribe anyone. He's simply walked up to her door and let himself in.

The room smells different than the rest of the establishment and Hux wonders if it's her he smells. He finds the thought darkly exciting. It's almost as exciting as what he is about to do.

He's dressed in street clothes to blend in. The unfamiliar cut of the material chafes him in odd places. The only item he's kept from his uniform are his leather gloves. 

Her cheerful humming alerts him to her impending return. 

Hux swallows hard. He's sweating and the adrenaline has his heart racing. He is entirely focused on what needs to happen next.

Her door opens, blocking him from her view. 

He has a brief moment when she shuts the door to see that her arms are full of market bags. 

She notices him but it's already too late. Hux is up behind her. His gloved hand snakes across her face to cover her mouth and nose, pinching off her air supply. She drops her bags giving Hux the opportunity he needs to clamp his other arm around body, pinning her arms against her sides so he can lift her off her feet.

She fights and, dear gods, he loves the feel of her struggling against him, her lithe body snaking along his.

“I'm not here to hurt you,” he hisses in her ear. 

She tries to bite him anyway but the thick leather of his glove keeps her from hurting him.

“Stop fighting and I'll release you, Rey.” His arms are beginning to ache with the strain of keeping her from getting away. Such a powerful little thing. 

At the sound of her name, she goes still.

Hux won't get a second chance. He releases his hold and reaches into his pocket as his other hand loosens away from her face. Before she can pull in a breath full enough to scream, Hux injects her with a powerful sedative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would appear that Hux has no issue with performing some of the dirty work himself.


	4. Betrayals: Prey for Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s still unconscious although she’s beginning to stir. Her soft moans pull at Hux’s insides. He indulges himself by sweeping his gaze across her sleeping form. She really is quite lovely under all the dirt. A pang of excitement stabs Hux when he imagines getting her clean.
> 
> All at once, she snaps awake, eyes finding his and digging for purchase. She doesn’t even bother to survey her circumstances before she speaks.
> 
> “He sent you,” she says. It’s a statement, not a question. Metal chimes against metal as she tests her bindings.
> 
> Hux smiles before he answers. “No.”
> 
> Her expression softens with confusion. Hux enjoys the way her lips part in surprise.
> 
> “Where am I?” she asks.
> 
> Hux is about to say she’s his guest but stops himself. Ren has already ruined that line for him. Ren always ruins everything.

Hux sits across from the woman. He’s already come to think of her this way. Not as a girl, but as a woman. Ren’s an utter fool not to see it. 

He has her strapped into the interrogation chair he had installed just for her. It’s only one of the luxuries he’s allowed himself as he executes his plan. 

She’s still unconscious although she’s beginning to stir. Her soft moans pull at Hux’s insides. He indulges himself by sweeping his gaze across her sleeping form. She really is quite lovely under all the dirt. A pang of excitement stabs Hux when he imagines getting her clean.

All at once, she snaps awake, eyes finding his and digging for purchase. She doesn’t even bother to survey her circumstances before she speaks.

“He sent you,” she says. It’s a statement, not a question. Metal chimes against metal as she tests her bindings.

Hux smiles before he answers. “No.”

Her expression softens with confusion. Hux enjoys the way her lips part in surprise.

“Where am I?” she asks.

Hux is about to say she’s his guest but stops himself. Ren has already ruined that line for him. Ren always ruins _everything_.

“Where you need to be,” he answers instead.

Her eyes flash with anger. She drops the question in favour of another.

“What do you want…?” Her eyes skip to his insignia then back to his. “ _General_ ,” she finishes with a sneer.

She’s a feisty one, for sure. This pleases Hux more than he cares to admit.

Hux doesn’t answer right away. He rises instead so he can approach more closely.

“Many things.” Hux runs the back of his fingers, now free of his gloves, across her cheek. “I want a great many things from you.”

She flinches away from his touch.

“Rey.”

Her eyes dart toward him but she keeps her face averted.

“What is it that you want, Rey?”

She snaps her face toward him. “What?”

Hux clasps his hands behind his back and starts away, giving her his back.

“You heard me,” he says. “Answer the question.”

“I don’t understand,” she says.

Hux faces her, his green eyes boring into her hazel ones.

“Would you like to? Would you like to understand?”

She swallows hard, clearly struggling with some internal conflict.

The silence spools out with neither of them willing to breech it.

He’s tempted to leave her there, give her time to consider his question but he doesn’t. He waits instead.

Hux feels the tickle inside his head as she brushes across his mind.

“You will remove these restraints,” she says, voice low with suggestion.

Her silly little trick is no match for Hux. “Sorry, sweetheart. That only works on weak-minded fools.” Which Hux is certainly not.

The tickle increases for a moment before she gives up and withdraws.

“Is that what you want, then?” he asks. “To have your restrains removed?”

“It would certainly be a place to start,” she answers.

Hux’s smile turns predatory.

“Well, now. I think we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement on that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up between General Hux and his captive. He’s good but she just might be better than him at his own game.


	5. Betrayals: Waste Not, Want Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He watches her small breasts while she washes her hair. 
> 
> Gods, but she’s beautiful. Strong and lithe. Her skin is a mottled mix of dark and light, marking the places where Jakku’s sun has touched her and where it hasn’t.
> 
> She turns her back to him while she rinses the floral scented lather from her hair.
> 
> Hux wonders if he’s finally made her uncomfortable with his stares.
> 
> “You haven’t,” she says. “Made me uncomfortable, I mean. I told you, being without clothes while you watch doesn’t bother me.” She glances over her shoulder at him. Water drips from her eyelashes and chin. “It’s the other things you’re thinking about.” She turns away again. “You should try not to think so loud.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One question after you’ve finished reading: Is it worth continuing this story? 
> 
> Let me know because there is so much more to tell.

They’re in the ‘fresher, Hux seated well away from the warm spray of water in a vain attempt to keep his uniform dry. 

“If you’re trying to humiliate me, this doesn’t work,” she says.

She’s nude and it’s clear to Hux that she is very much enjoying herself.

Realisation dawns on him. “Is it your first time?” he asks.

She gives him a sharp look. “First time for what?”

“Your first time in the 'fresher?”

“No, not exactly.” Her look softens and he sees a brief flash of uncertainty. It’s gone before he can be sure he saw it. “It’s the first time the water’s been warm.” She smiles and turns her face into the spray, mouth open to catch the droplets. 

He’s achingly hard but he’s not here for that. Not this time.

Hux points in her direction. “That bottle has soap for your hair.”

She tilts her head back to its normal position and spits out a mouthful of water.

“It’s so _wasteful_ ,” she says as she tries to follow the water's path to the drain. Her eyes have gone strangely dark.

Hux bites his lip to keep himself quiet.

He watches her small breasts while she washes her hair. 

Gods, but she’s beautiful. Strong and lithe. Her skin is a mottled mix of dark and light, marking the places where Jakku’s sun has touched her and where it hasn’t.

She turns her back to him while she rinses the floral scented lather from her hair.

Hux wonders if he’s finally made her uncomfortable with his stares.

“You haven’t,” she says. “Made me uncomfortable, I mean. I told you, being without clothes while you watch doesn’t bother me.” She glances over her shoulder at him. Water drips from her eyelashes and chin. “It’s the other things you’re thinking about.” She turns away again. “You should try not to think so loud.”

The collar of Hux’s uniform cinches around his throat as heat flashes up from his belly to colour his face. He sits up straight, fighting to regain his composure.

Careless. He’s underestimated her and she’s taken advantage of his momentary weakness.

Hux stands and hits the button, shutting off the water. He tosses her a fluffy white towel, one from his personal collection.

“Dry yourself then we’ll get you dressed.”

She looks as though she wants to say something but wisely remains silent while she does what he’s asked.

Hux watches with distaste as she discards the damp towel in an unceremonious heap on the wet tile floor.

“Well? Let’s get on with this.” She clearly has no intention of hiding her nakedness from him even though he’s given her the opportunity.

He swallows hard, lips pinched together as he wrestles with his thoughts. Hux makes her wait while he retrieves the towel so he can hang it in its proper place.

“Yes. This way, please.”

He gives her a choice of clothing, surprised when she chooses the more elegant of the two. He'd thought for sure she’d pick the outfit that more closely resembles her regular clothing. It’s not the first time she’s surprised him. He’ll do well to keep that close to mind.

Hux drops his boots to the floor, making space for her to sit on the ottoman in front of his feet.

“Come, Rey.” He leans forward to pat the cushioned seat.

It’s the final thing she owes him for letting her free of the restraining chair. 

Hux enjoys the way the material glides across her clean skin as she approaches. He keeps the thought brief, shoving it away before she can latch onto it.

When she’s seated with her back to him, Hux picks up a small towel and begins drying her hair. She says nothing while he works, even when he pulls a little harder than he needs to.

With her hair no longer dripping, he sets the towel aside and takes the clean strands in his hands, assessing what needs to be done. He gathers it all in one fist and reaches for a wide-toothed comb. Despite his earlier tugs on her hair, he wants to make it a point not to hurt her now. 

“I’ll do my best to be gentle but this is an awful mess,” Hux tells her.

“Go ahead, General. Let’s get this over with.”

Hux chuckles. He thinks it won’t be long before she changes her tune on that and begs him to make it last as long as possible.

As gentle as he is, there are plenty of small sounds from her when he tackles particularly stubborn knots. It grows easier and he keeps switching to combs with tighter teeth as the mess unravels under his fingers.

At last, Hux sets his comb down. “There. The hard part is over.”

She’s sitting ramrod straight, hands tucked into her lap.

Her hair is nearly dry when he pulls the hairbrush through the first time. She rewards him with a delicious shiver. 

He angles the brush differently and draws it through again. This time the shiver is accompanied by a small gasp that strikes him like lightning.

Hux leans forward, his face over her shoulder, close but not too close. Not yet.

“Do you enjoy that?” he asks.

“Of course. But you already knew I would. It’s why you asked to be allowed to do it.”

Her arrogance infuriates Hux. 

He does the only thing he can; he sits back and draws the brush through a third time. A fourth. He lets the bristles slowly play along her scalp. She makes no effort to hide her enjoyment, leaving Hux in a terrible state.

When he’s satisfied, he sets the hair brush down and gives her one final choice.

“You may either choose to return to the chair and its restraints for sleep. Or, you may choose to sleep next to me in my bed. Unrestrained, of course.”

Hux savours the blush creeping across her skin as he waits for her answer.


	6. Betrayals: Silhouettes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Hux can hear for a long time is their breathing, discordant and out of sync.
> 
> She's been silent since she'd slipped into bed beside him.
> 
> Hux lays on his back, his cheek pressed into his pillow so he can watch as her back rises and falls with her breath.
> 
> She catches him by surprise when she rolls to face him.
> 
> “I don't know your name,” she says. 
> 
> She looks soft and sleepy in the dim light.
> 
> “Bren,” he answers with immediate regret.

While he waits for her to decide, Hux begins plaiting her hair into a simple weave. 

He starts at the crown, working his way down until he runs out of strands. He secures it with a delicate strip of crimson silk.

When he finishes, he rises from his chair.

“It's late. Time for sleep.”

He leaves her sitting on the ottoman while he prepares himself for bed. By the time he's settled between the sheets, she still hasn't given him her answer. Though he gave her no definite time limit, Hux knows that he's not going to give her much longer before he puts her back in the chair.

A brief stain of panic blooms in his thoughts. Would it even be possible for him to force her back into the restraints? In the end, he doesn't have to discover the answer to that on this night.

Her silhouette ghosts across the doorway before her slight weight settles close.

All Hux can hear for a long time is their breathing, discordant and out of sync.

She's been silent since she'd slipped into bed beside him.

Hux lays on his back, his cheek pressed into his pillow so he can watch as her back rises and falls with her breath.

She catches him by surprise when she rolls to face him.

“I don't know your name,” she says. 

She looks soft and sleepy in the dim light.

“Bren,” he answers with immediate regret. 

He tries telling himself he's given her the false name as a layer of disguise but he knows that's bullshit.

She tries it out and he likes the way it sounds when she says it.

“Thank you, Bren,” she says and he likes the sound of it even more the second time.

“For what?” 

She rolls the scrap of silk holding her hair in place between her fingers.

“For this. It was...unexpected.”

Hux rolls onto his side so that they face each other. She lets him brush a stray strand off her temple.

“I'm glad you like it. Anytime you want it done, all you have to do is ask me.”

Gods, the way she's looking at him right now twists his insides. He wants nothing more than to kiss her. He needs to stop himself, stop her, stop everything. 

Hux clamps the fingers of one hand around her wrist roughly. Shock replaces the longing in her eyes and she goes rigid. It's enough to break the spell. This time.

He lets go and rolls away from her while he still has a chance.

“Good night, Rey.”

She doesn't say anything, unfamiliar with the common ritual of returning the sentiment at day's end to one's bedfellows.

Sleep rarely comes easy for Hux and tonight he knows for certain it won't come at all. 

Though she's nowhere close enough to touch him, he can feel the maddening heat of her. It pools against his bare back, dangerous and alluring.

He watches the minutes tick by and wonders how he came to be in this hell. Wanting and not getting. By decree of his own making.

She shifts behind him and lets out a quiet moan that drives a rod of lightning through his core. Hux clenches his hands into fists, trying not to listen, trying not to think about what she's doing.

Her quiet little moans grow louder and closer together. Hux has taken to digging his teeth into the whitened knuckles on the back of his hand. He thinks, prays, it's enough to hold him back.

Her breath begins to hitch as she nears her end. The compulsion to touch his own want, to shuck his underthings and wrap his fingers around his own aching flesh until the need spends itself across his abdomen almost undoes him.

He can't stay here. He has to move. The sweet sound of her coming chases him into the ‘fresher. Hux locks the door and slumps, back against the wall, breath catching in his throat.

Hux frees himself from his underthings. He's swollen and deep red. His breath hisses when his fist makes a light pass down his length. It's too much and not enough all at once. There's no more time. Hux turns to lean into the wall, one hand dragging mercilessly over his desperate flesh, the other braced high against tiles still wet from her earlier turn in the ‘fresher. The thought pushes Hux over the edge, hot spend painting the cold porcelain with his utter loss of control.

Everything goes white then quickly black, leaving him to see stars. He nearly falls to his knees. Instead, he rolls his back against the wall for stability while he works to catch his breath.

The warm afterglow of release turns hot as it becomes anger. Hux jams a finger on the button, starting the flow of water. The last of his seed washing away down the drain only makes him feel slightly less nauseous. 

When he's finished, Hux dresses in a fresh uniform and combs his hair into its usual severe style. 

He doesn't look her way or speak to her as he crosses to the doorway leading to his sitting room. Hux takes a seat in his favourite chair, boots back up on the ottoman where she'd sat quietly as he’d worked on her hair.

It's easier to push the thoughts of her away now that he isn't so pent up. His anger flares that she's been able to reduce him to the pathetic self-groping reserved for younger men, men not yet familiar with self-control. 

He lights a cigarette, hoping to calm some of his fury. 

“Goodnight, Bren.” Her voice is sweet and low, a siren song lilting from his bedroom.

Hux exhales a thick cloud of dense smoke and understands he must change strategies if he's to get want he wants without losing himself in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, phew. So all I knew going into this chapter was that Rey decides she’ll sleep beside Hux. I am so not responsible for what they did next.


	7. Betrayals: Discipline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank to gods, she appears to have gone to sleep after her little display. Twice he’s heard the quiet murmurs of her sleep visions.
> 
> Once, he hears his name and has to stand in the doorway to assure himself that she is, indeed, asleep and not calling to him. He spends longer than he means to watching her, curled up tight in the little nest of linens she’s formed in his absence. 
> 
> A few more strands of hair have escaped his handiwork, the damp tendrils clinging to her temple and cheek.
> 
> As the viewports fade to artificial morning, Hux has been rooted in his seat for hours. He knows exactly how to spend the remaining four days before he has to return to his station.
> 
> Four days and not a parsec more.
> 
> Because she’s coming with him. And in that time, he needs her complete obedience.

That she understands far more than Hux gave her credit for is painfully obvious.

There are many hours still before what passes as dawn arrives. Hux uses the time to reconsider his strategy. 

Thank to gods, she appears to have gone to sleep after her little display. Twice he’s heard the quiet murmurs of her sleep visions.

Once, he hears his name and has to stand in the doorway to assure himself that she is, indeed, asleep and not calling to him. He spends longer than he means to watching her, curled up tight in the little nest of linens she’s formed in his absence. 

A few more strands of hair have escaped his handiwork, the damp tendrils clinging to her temple and cheek.

As the viewports fade to artificial morning, Hux has been rooted to his seat for hours. He knows exactly how to spend the remaining four days before he has to return to his station.

Four days and not a parsec more.

Because she’s coming with him. And in that time, he needs her complete obedience.

She sits across the table from him, a veritable feast of all her favourite foods spread out between them. 

“You are never to do that, perform that _act_ , in front of me again.”

 _Not without permission_ , he wants to add but simply telling her won’t get his message across. No, he needs to _show_ her.

“Understood?” he asks.

“Yes,” she answers, a brief flash of rebellion darkening her eyes.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, _General_ ,” she finishes. He doesn’t like her tone.

Hux pushes one of her favourite sweet breads in front of her.

He can see she wants to refuse him but it’s been days since she’s eaten and the lure of the treat is too much. She shoves the entire thing into her mouth at once, the spongy bread filling out her cheeks. She nearly gags on her eagerness.

Hux is on her immediately. From behind, he wraps one arm around her throat, pulling her roughly to her feet. He catches her chin in his gloved hand so he can tilt her head back into his chest. 

She’s choking and struggling, her fingernails digging into his glove and finding no purchase.

His fingers thrust between her lips, prying her mouth open. He forces the fingers of his other hand into her mouth, ejecting the food. It falls to the floor with a wet splatter.

She’s coughing, tears streaming from her eyes.

He doesn’t release his grip but he does remove his fingers from between her lips.

“That is not the way to eat, Rey.”

He drops her back into her seat.

She leans forward, fingers clawing at her throat, cheeks vermillion.

Hux returns to his seat.

“Clean up your mess,” he orders.

She shoots him daggers but says nothing. Instead, she drops to her hands and knees, swiping at the mess until there’s no trace of her disobedience left on the floor.

Rey looks to him for praise but he has none to give.

Hux holds up the soiled fingers of his glove.

"Finish, please."

Rey slides into his lap. She makes sure she gets every last bit of the leather clean.

When she’s finished, Hux praises her.

“Very good, Rey. You may have any one item of your choosing.” 

Rey selects an Ecclessis fig.

“They’re small," he says. "You may have two.”

Her eyes dart toward his before she snatches a second fruit from the table.

She settles in his lap. Her perfect little teeth sink into the soft skin, tearing a small piece off to reveal its pink inner flesh. 

He’s riveted as he watches her slowly consume the first, then the second fig.

He pushes her off his lap.

When she returns to her seat without protest, Hux lets her have a few more small items. He wants her nourished but not overly full.

Rey wipes her mouth with the crisp linen he’s supplied then folds it neatly and sets it to the side, just as he’s taught her.

“When was the last time you trained?” he asks, satisfied that she’s ready.

Her head cocks to one side, the edge of wariness softened by her curiosity.

“It’s been a while,” she admits.

“Would you like to?”

“I don’t have my staff,” she says. It's a statement rather than a challenge.

“Not that kind of training.”

“What other kind of training is there?” Her curiosity has turned into sharp focus.

Hux pushes his chair away from the table and stands. He reaches his hand out to her.

“Come. Let me show you,” he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter wherein Hux bends Rey to his will because this entire tragedy hinges on him returning to his command post aboard the Conqueror with Rey in tow.


	8. Betrayals: Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To his utter disbelief, Ren corners Hux in an empty hallway. He is free of his mask, as it is more and more these days. So much so, that Hux is growing used to seeing expression on Ren's face.
> 
> But not now, not like this. Not when Ren has him pinned up against the wall in a most obscene manner. He reeks of Rey and sex.
> 
> Hux's gloved hands grip the wrist of the one Ren has clenched around his throat.
> 
> “Careful, Ren, that your own personal interests not interfere with the girl's training.”
> 
> “My personal interests, General? And what of yours?”
> 
> “I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.”
> 
> Something dark and dangerous slithers to life between them.
> 
> Ren releases Hux from his crushing grip. His mouth replaces the painful fingers at Hux's throat with impossibly soft lips.
> 
> “She would have us both, Hux.”

When their time is up on Bakura, Hux returns to his post, Rey in tow. He keeps her sequestered in his quarters under threat of arrest. He allows her full access to everything he has under the watchful eye of his two most trusted men.

Though his time alone with her seemed to pass at lightspeed, he knows he’s been away too long. 

New information awaits him.

The first item of business is dealing with yet another of Ren’s temper tantrums. More expensive equipment to replace. More of the same nonsense. 

There’s a long list of directives awaiting his attention. Hux moves on quickly to the next one. And the next, until he’s caught up.

Hux has saved the best for last. 

There are three new vid files his algorithm has uncovered.

Hux queues up the first.

The vid jitters to life on his screen, blood red and shot through with interference.

There’s no mistaking Snoke’s throne room aboard the _Finalizer_. Hux stops breathing.

Large chunks of missing data give the vid a surreal, jumpy quality.

Rey on her knees before Ren, his unlit weapon aimed at her heart.

A flash of blue cutting through the crimson haze.

The vid clears for a moment, untouched by disaster. Hux sees Rey call the saber she ignited through Snoke’s torso to her waiting hand. Ren had told him the truth!

A burst of gray static drowns out the feed. Hux slaps his datapad in frustration.

An image pops up, too brief for Hux to understand what he is seeing before the static consumes it again.

Rey resolves onto the screen once more. She screams Ren’s name then throws him her weapon. There’s enough for Hux to see that Ren is able to use it to free himself from his would-be assassin.

The static returns and there’s nothing more to see.

He allows himself to watch it two more times before moving on to the second result.

It’s Kylo Ren, destroying the equipment Hux has just ordered replaced. Another failed connection that lines up perfectly with Ren’s petty, childish outburst. It pleases Hux to no end that this one occurred while Rey was in his custody on Bakura. 

His satisfaction is short-lived when the next search result in the chronology displays the hallmarks of a completed connection. It’s the first one since Crait. Hux checks the timestamp and his heart seizes in his chest. He checks and double checks but there's no mistake.

She and Ren had shared the connection while she brought herself to climax in Hux's bed that very first night. He feels as though he's about to vomit, manages to swallow the bitter bile.

Ren always ruins _everything_!

For the first time, Hux is late to a meeting.

He stares his datapad, agitated and impatient with Mitaka's daily debriefing. It's all so fucking irrelevant. He has real work to do. Not this mindless drudgery.

The only thing keeping him in place is that there have been no indications of additional connections between Rey and Ren since Hux brought her aboard.

He dares to hope because in the short time since they’ve returned, Rey has proved herself an excellent student. When he’d set aside three days to teach her the basic form and style of Echani, she’d mastered everything in less than two hours. Her grasp of the deeper meaning behind each kata is clear to see in the fluid way she moves. It seems to Hux she is almost born to it.

His screen glitches, pulling him from his thoughts. The image pixelates for the briefest moment, before resolving back into the endless white against black that is Mitaka's briefing notes. 

Hux sits a little straighter, if that's even possible, eyes now squarely focused on his datapad. There! It happens again only this time, when the screen clears, Hux is left with mouth gaping and eyes bulging.

He glances at the HUD. _Live feed_ blinks in tiny red letters then his eyes snap back to what's playing out on his screen.

Seated to his left, Lieutenant Mitaka stops talking and turns to Hux.

“Is everything alright, General?”

Hux digs deep, regains the tiniest of holds on his composure and meets his lieutenant’s stare.

“Of course. Continue without delay.”

The lieutenant gives Hux a dubious final glance and returns to his debrief.

When all eyes are back on Mitaka, Hux dares to look at his screen. He can't contain a sharp intake of breath. Mitaka flicks his eyes at Hux but continues on without pause.

On his screen, Hux watches as Ren fucks down into what Hux has come to consider as his. Rey's face is flushed, eyes burning brighter than Hux has ever seen. He thanks the stars there's no audio to give things away. Hux is intimately aware of how vocal Rey is, unabashedly giving voice to her pleasure. 

His skin threatens to burn and peel from his bones as he watches Ren take her. Hux is aghast at how different Rey is when she's in bed with Ren.

With Hux, she's soft and tender and gentle. Submissive. With Ren, there's biting and scratching and a struggle for dominance. Jealousy darkens his eyes to emerald instead of their usual jade.

Just when Hux thinks it can't get any worse, that bastard turns to look right at the camera and _smiles_ at Hux.

Blood boils in Hux's veins.

There's nothing Hux can do to stop it. Nothing he can do to tear his eyes away from the depravity she allows Ren to subject her to. Though he can't hear her, Hux knows without a doubt when Rey comes, screaming Ren's name from her silent lips.

When it's over, Hux hurries through the corridors. His arousal is a living, breathing thing. It shrouds him in a crimson fog of hatred and desire, of _ownership_. He needs to do something, _anything_ , to relieve himself. He refuses to give Ren the satisfaction of taking matters into his own hand.

To his utter disbelief, Ren corners Hux in an empty hallway. He is free of his mask, as it is more and more these days. So much so, that Hux is growing used to seeing expression on Ren's face.

But not now, not like this. Not when Ren has him pinned up against the wall in a most obscene manner. He reeks of Rey and sex.

Hux's gloved hands grip the wrist of the one Ren has clenched around his throat.

“Careful, Ren, that your own personal interests not interfere with the girl's training.”

“My personal interests, General? And what of yours?”

“I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.”

Something dark and dangerous slithers to life between them.

Ren releases Hux from his crushing grip. His mouth replaces the painful fingers at Hux's throat with impossibly soft lips.

“She would have us both, Hux.”

Hux groans when Ren bites him in the soft place where his throat meets his jaw. 

“At the same time,” Ren suggests into the hot shell of Hux's ear.

Hux's mouth goes dry. All the air leaves his lungs as Ren's meaning soaks into his misfiring mind.

In an instant, Ren's gone and it takes Hux more than a few moments to calm down enough to lock away this new knowledge. Rey will be back soon and Hux likes to have her supper ready. 

Later in his bed, they lay skin against skin where she's curled against him, her belly rounded and full. Hux runs his fingers through her hair and asks the question that’s been seething inside him.

“Where did you spend your time today, Rey?”

She tenses but gives him a valid answer.

“Training, mostly.”

Hux grits his teeth, seeing the marks she's been claiming she's gotten during training for what they truly are. Ren's marks upon her skin. His fingers have left dark arrays across her hips and his mouth has painted dusty pink shadows along her throat and breasts and inner thighs.

“Anything else?” he asks, voice cold now.

She whimpers and tries to slide on top of him but Hux isn't having it. He grips her by the wrists and rolls her onto her back. His hands press hers into the mattress on either side of her shoulders. He holds her down with his weight.

Her chest heaves between his knees.

“Tell me!” he snarls. “Tell me where you were today!”

When she doesn't answer, he shakes her, desperate to dislodge the truth.

“With him! Ren!” Her voice breaks. “I was with Kylo Ren.”

“Doing what? What were you doing with him, Rey?”

He's shaking her again but this time she's gone deathly still. Her eyes are dark in way he's never seen before. The first worm of fear wriggles in his gut.

Hux stops moving but he won't let her out from under him.

“What were you do—”

“Fucking him!” she screams at Hux. “I've been fucking him since the day you brought me aboard.” 

Hux feels as though he’s been sucked through an airlock. He can’t breathe. 

“I can't help it,” she whispers. The tension leaches from her body.

Everything about her admission enrages him. Hux does something he hasn't done since he captured her. He retrieves his uniform belt, snaking it through one hand while he coils it around his other. He uses it to restrain her, binding her wrists above her head to his bed frame.

She writhes under him as he kisses his way down her bare skin. He makes sure to lick then kiss each mark Ren has left behind. When he reaches the dark tuft of hair between her thighs, Hux slides off the bed, planting his knees to the floor. With her knees bent over his shoulders, she's stretched taut. Hux grips her thighs so he can pull them wide.

He runs his tongue along her entire seam, tasting her familiar tang. Hux growls when he tastes something new and dark there. Ren. 

Hux's attempts to lick her clean of Ren's essence bring her to the verge. It's not enough for Hux. There's only one way to reclaim her.

Hux stands so he's between her thighs. He isn't gentle when he grips himself and fucks into her. So wet. From Ren’s spend. Hux seats himself to the hilt, pausing for a moment to savour the way her tight heat flutters around him. Slow and steady and none too gentle, Hux fucks as much of Kylo Ren out of her as he can.

He places one hand flat on her belly, his palm buried against the thatch of hair between her thighs. His other hand grips her hip, giving him leverage to saw into her. 

This time, it's his name she screams when he finally lets her come.

“Well done, Hux.”

Hux straightens, his unspent cock slipping from her warm depths. He takes his time because there’s no way in the galaxy he is going to give away the fact that his knees have just turned to jelly. Hux turns toward the voice, body vibrating with animal awareness.

Kylo Ren watches him from the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Kylo, you filthy little thing. Taunting poor Hux this way. Whatever do you want with him?
> 
> ~*~ 
> 
> 11.3.18: With this chapter, it may be a few days before the next installments. I do hope you can be patient. I promise to make it worth the wait.


	9. Betrayals: Denials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well done, Hux,” he says, both intending to make himself known and to interrupt their coupling.
> 
> Hux's fear spills out in the Force, tendrils of midnight blue tinged with the red of his underlying arousal. 
> 
> Ren draws satisfaction when Hux turns to face him and the red flares bright for a moment before fading, the blue nearly black now as fury begins to replace Hux's fear.
> 
> Ren pushes himself away from the wall so he can move closer. 
> 
> “Do you think you got it all out of her? All of me out of her?” Ren’s voice is low and dangerous.

Ren keeps himself hidden in the shadows, watching as Hux tries to reclaim Rey with each grunting thrust. There's nothing about the scene unfolding in front of him that arouses him. When you can watch and listen in whenever you wish, voyeurism ceases to hold any appeal.

For Ren, looking is never enough. He craves only the corporeal.

He observes them with a critical eye, looking for Hux's weak spots and finding plenty. Hux is desperate and needy. Best of all, he is unaware of Ren’s presence. 

Ren does feel a light pull in his groin when Rey finally comes. She does love a good, hard fucking. Ren knows from first-hand experience. 

“Well done, Hux,” he says, both intending to make himself known and to interrupt their coupling.

Hux's fear spills out in the Force, tendrils of midnight blue tinged with the red of his underlying arousal. 

Ren draws satisfaction when Hux turns to face him and the red flares bright for a moment before fading, the blue darkening to nearly black as fury begins to replace Hux's fear.

Ren pushes himself away from the wall so he can move closer. 

“Do you think you got it all out of her? All of _me_ out of her?” Ren’s voice is low and dangerous.

“I should think it's the other way around, Ren. You needing to remove my stain from your precious girl. It's me she comes home to and sleeps beside each night.”

Hux stands his ground and a brief flash of admiration slides through Ren. It takes balls the size of a Bantha’s for Hux to stand here, unspent cock jutting from between his naked thighs, and challenge his Lord.

Ren chuckles quietly. 

He wraps around Hux like a shadow only closer and darker, drawing the nude man's body to his clothed one until he disappears into Ren's flowing robes. He clutches a handful of Hux’s ass, digging his fingers in hard enough to ensure Hux will find the marks purpling beneath his skin tomorrow.

“And what of her _days_ , Hux. For those, she comes to me. Each day.”

Hux gasps and Ren can feel his hate-filled aversion when Ren wraps his gloved fingers around the General’s weeping cock. Hux has no defenses to block the agonising bolt of _need_ that rolls his hips forward when Ren begins stroking him.

Ren savours Hux's internal turmoil, a heady mixture of pleasure and self-hatred.

“Perhaps we're both wrong and it's her stain that needs removing.” Ren spits on his gloved hand and tightens his grip.

“Noooo,” Hux moans against Ren's shoulder even as he pushes his swollen flesh into the tight well Ren's fist.

Hux regards him as a predator but Hux is no easy prey himself. The challenge excites Ren. He lets Hux feel his own growing erection as its heat unfurls across the smaller man's bare stomach.

Hux chokes out another denial and goes still. His fury is quickly cascading back into fear. 

_Dear Gods, this man cannot be allowed to finish me off_

The thought rakes across Ren's nerves. Now he must have it. He must have Hux's total submission.

Ren drags his mouth across Hux's then pushes his tongue in. Hux kisses him back for a moment then tears himself free. Ren can feel Hux’s nipples catching on the rough fabric of his tunic as he heaves for breath.

Hux tilts his head back against the wall, exposing his pale, slender throat in order to keep his mouth away from Ren's.

“Please, no.” It's whispered in a tone Ren has never heard Hux's voice take on. Desperation. Desire. Loathing. 

All at once, she's between them.

“Enough, Kylo.” He ignores her.

“Enough, I said!” Ren can feel that her anger is barely within her ability to contain.

Ren releases his hold, his focus now entirely on Rey. 

Hux goes limp against Rey's back.

“Go back to your quarters, Kylo. It isn't your time now.”

Anger clenches his fists and jaw. 

“You would send me away?” 

“It isn't your time,” she says again, voice verging on a hiss. In the Force, her anger pulses the deep orange of molten durasteel.

Ren realises with a start that she has pushed him away to arm’s length. 

Over her shoulder, Hux's pale green eyes regard Ren with a sneering satisfaction.

_You see, Ren? You are not the only one she wants_

He needs to _hurt_ someone, needs to feel his fist smashing against alabster flesh and delicate bone, revel in the warm spray of blood fanning across his skin.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she hisses. 

He’s the one to retreat. Ren wrenches his eyes away from Hux’s and before he loses all sense of control, he leaves amid a maelstrom of pent up rage. 

Though he's left them behind, still he knows what is happening behind Hux's closed doors. She touches Hux in a way she never touches him. With Hux, her kisses are soft, her hands gentle, her tears warm and full of pain. She gives Ren none of these things. Things she holds most precious.

He seeks out the nearest room with expensive equipment inside. The jagged, fiery blade of Ren's saber makes its first searing incision into the delicate equipment. Another, and another, each strike sparing him from having to watch for a few precious moments while he drains the life from the machine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First. POV switch and I'm pretty sure I know why.
> 
> Second. I’m not convinced this works for me. 
> 
> I find writing Kylo Ren extremely challenging. Especially compared to Hux. Hux is simple. What he wants and how he operates are simple. Kylo Ren is infinitely more complex which makes inhabiting the character difficult. I need to understand his motivations and how he responds to them in order to pull it off. 
> 
> At this point, I am entirely open to scrapping this little scene in favour of a different one that has yet to be written. It almost feels too soon for this but that may well be my insecurities talking.
> 
> Thoughts on any of this?


	10. Betrayals: Chapter 10 - Original Version

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s an easy dodge for Hux. He follows up with a sharp blow to Ren’s ribs.
> 
> “I can stop as soon as you need me to,” Hux tells him.
> 
> Ren launches forward again, his focus much sharper this time.
> 
> Hux is able to stave off most of the blows. His fist crashes across Ren’s upper lip and smashes into his nose. There’s a satisfying crunch under his knuckles. He’s bleeding but so is Ren.
> 
> Ren has the back of his hand pressed against his nose, trying to slow the blood flow.
> 
> “Cheap move,” Ren taunts.
> 
> “Legal move, cheap or not,” Hux replies. “You done yet?”
> 
> “Never.”

Hux arrives unannounced. He hopes that in their singular focus on sparring, he’ll remain unnoticed. 

His deviation from protocol pays off and he’s able to watch them undetected for a while.

His mind wanders back to the way Rey had touched him after ordering Ren away. Nothing has ever made him feel so good, so _worthy_. He’s been hard with it all day.

Hux brings his thoughts back around to watching Ren work with her. He’s stripped to the waist and Hux is silently thankful he’s become mostly immune to looking at Ren half undressed thanks to his growing vid collection. Still, Ren is a sight to behold. Even more so in person.

Agitation begins to chafe his nerves. She’s picking up Ren’s terrible habits. Hux realises that Ren is so used to, has always used, his powers to shore up his own lack of training that he’s sloppy and careless. That she can match him makes it all the worse. This will simply not do.

He descends from the viewing section toward the main floor.

Both pair of eyes turn to him, their sparring interrupted by his arrival.

“Are you trying to get her killed, Ren?”

Hux stops at the edge of the mat. 

They’re staring at him. Fury from Ren. Curiosity from Rey.

“Go away. It isn’t your time, General.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve had her assigned to me for reconditioning. If she’s to stay, she must be brought into the First Order, same as anyone else.”

Ren’s fists clench and unclench.

And, Rey? Hux is pleased to see the naked _want_ in her eyes. She’s electrified. Hux has already given her a small taste of what he has to offer and now he’s offering her unlimited access. 

“Come on, Hux.” Ren points his weapon at Hux’s throat. “Victor sleeps with Rey in his bed tonight. Loser sleeps alone.”

“I’ll agree to it.” Hux removes his greatcoat and uniform until he’s down to only his undershirt and trousers. “If you’ll agree to fight as a man and leave your silly sorcery off the mats.”

“A fair fight? Where’s the fun in that?”

“Those are the terms. Either challenge me or leave the floor. Rey and I have work to do. Official orders.”

Ren’s grip tightens on his weapon for a moment before he casts it away. He flips his hair out of his eyes and curls his fingers at Hux.

“Come fight me as a man then, Hux.”

Rey has inched away, still on the mats but far out of striking zone.

Hux walks out to meet him, the mats cool beneath his bare feet. He pauses to give Ren the customary opening recognition before assuming his stance.

“Echani, Hux? How predictable.”

“A shame you never learned. Perhaps when I’m done with her, you’ll come to appreciate its value.”

Ren launches at him, unfocused but still dangerous.

It’s an easy dodge for Hux. He follows up with a sharp blow to Ren’s ribs.

What Hux lacks in height and mass against his larger opponent, he makes up for in discipline and control.

“I can stop as soon as you need me to,” Hux tells him.

Ren launches forward again, his focus much sharper this time.

Hux is able to stave off most of the blows. His fist crashes across Ren’s upper lip and smashes into his nose. There’s a satisfying crunch under his knuckles. He’s bleeding but so is Ren.

Ren has the back of his hand pressed against his nose, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

“Cheap move,” Ren taunts.

“Legal move, cheap or not,” Hux replies. “You done yet?”

“Never.”

Ren tackles him but Hux has anticipated his move. He counters before Ren realises what’s happening. Hux uses his arms and legs to rob Ren of his ability to use them as weapons. He has Ren on his stomach, arms angled behind him to the point of pain. His chest against Ren's back, Hux presses his entire weight down on Ren, using leverage from Ren’s own legs to keep his struggles muted.

Hux puts his mouth to Ren’s ear.

“Do you yield?”

“Never!”

Ren’s strong and Hux loses his grip on one of his legs. Instead of trying to regain his hold, Hux lets go of Ren and pushes himself up onto his arms. Ren spins toward him, bending in the middle as his powerful torso lifts them both up.

This too, Hux has anticipated. He cracks Ren in the throat hard enough that Ren falls to his back, his fingers clutching at his bruised windpipe.

Before Ren can recover, Hux has him subdued again. His knees dig into Ren’s arms. All his weight sits there, high up on Ren’s chest. The fly of Hux’s trousers is dangerously close to Ren’s mouth.

Ren’s still coughing and tears stream from his eyes.

He tries kicking his legs to buck Hux off but Hux is so high up on his chest, he can’t get leverage. All it does is push the front of Hux’s trousers closer to his face.

Something shifts in Hux. The urge to open his fly and feed his cock through Ren’s bruised and split lips rises like wildfire inside him, scorching away reasonable thought and testing the limits of his control.

Beneath him, Ren has stopped moving. He’s staring at Hux and there’s dark challenge in his eyes.

“Has anyone ever told you that you think too loud, Hux?”

Enraged at Ren’s violation of his private thoughts, Hux digs his knees harder into Ren’s arms. Humiliation threatens to unwind him. 

“Yield!” he snarls.

“Never.”

They both look up when the sound of a closing door reaches them.

Rey is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s looking like both men will be sleeping alone tonight. That is...unless, of course...they sleep together
> 
> Maybe.
> 
> Let me know if you'd like more.


	11. Betrayals: Chapter 10 - Version 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The retcon, as promised. 
> 
> An alternative version of the original Chapter 10 with the suggestion to re-read [Chapter 9](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16492694/chapters/38682077) before diving into this piece.
> 
> It's like choose-your-own-adventure except only one thread will continue.

Hux arrives unannounced. He hopes that in their singular focus on sparring, he’ll remain unnoticed. The deviation from protocol pays off and he’s able to watch them undetected.

They follow no set discipline that Hux can decipher. Each move they make, one against the other, seems to have no purpose, no intent. Yet, Hux watches them move almost as one. Strike. _Block._ Strike. _Block_. Neither gains the upper hand. They are all too reliant on their shared connection to make any real use of their efforts beyond strength and endurance conditioning.

His mind wanders, thoughts turning to the night before as he watches their repetitive, boring movements.

_‘You would send me away?’ Ren’s fury is a live entity poised to strike._

_She holds her ground, deadly and sure, until Ren turns and retreats._

_The moment the door hisses shut behind him, she turns and gathers Hux in her arms, keeping him on his feet as his knees gave way._

_She eases him into their bed, whispering quiet nothings into his ear, her body fervent and soft as she fits herself against him._

_Sweetness and light. Warm skin. Heated kisses. Wandering hands. Whispered promises. Her... and no one else._

_‘Armitage, I need you… ’_

Nothing has ever made him feel so good, so _worthy_. He’s been hard with it all day.

Hux forces himself back to the present, trying to still his spinning thoughts. He digs down, grounding himself, and brings himself around to watching Ren work with her. Ren’s stripped to the waist and Hux is silently thankful he’s become almost immune to looking at him half undressed thanks to his growing vid collection. Still, Ren is a sight to behold. Even more so in person.

_… perhaps it is her stain that needs removing…_

_Coarse wool, thick with the woodsy off-world scent that clings to Ren, coils around him. Arms and legs ensnare him in their heavy grasp. He’s nude and erect, his skin hot against Ren’s. Leather slick with saliva wraps around his cock. Ren’s gloves are the only thing he still wears, the rest of him stripped bare. Hux reaches out for Ren—_

He wrenches his thoughts back once more. Hux shakes his head, trying to clear it. The previous night has left him more rattled than he cares to admit. He reminds himself that admiring Ren's physical form is not the same as desiring the man himself.

He returns to watching them spar, determined to stay focused. Agitation begins to chafe his nerves. She’s picking up Ren’s terrible habits. Hux realises that Ren is so used to, has always used, his powers to shore up his own lack of training that he’s sloppy and careless. That she matches him makes it all the worse. This will simply not do.

He descends from the shadows toward the main floor.

“Are you trying to get her killed?”

Both pair of eyes turn to him, their sparring interrupted by his unanticipated arrival.

Hux stops at the edge of the mats.

They’re staring at him. Fury from Ren. Curiosity from Rey.

“Go away. It isn’t your time, General.” Ren locks eyes with him.

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve had her assigned to me for reconditioning. If she’s to stay, she must be brought into the First Order, same as anyone else.”

Ren’s fists clench.

Hux turns his attention to Rey. She’s electrified. He’s just witnessed for himself the mindless drudgery Ren subjects her to and knows he’s given her a small taste of what he has to offer over Ren. Now, he’s offering her unlimited access. Hux is pleased to see the naked _want_ in her eyes.

“Come on.” Ren points at Hux and urges him into the fight with the draw of his hand. “Victor sleeps with Rey in his bed tonight. Loser sleeps alone.”

Hux trains his stare back on Ren. He stands unmoving for a moment then answers by making a show of removing one of his black leather gloves. He slides his index finger between his lips, sinks his teeth into the thick seam at the tip. With a slow shake of his head, Hux eases his hand free until the empty glove slaps against his chin. He repeats the action, baring his other hand. Ren’s eyes haven’t left his and now they’re burning with the heat of a thousand suns.

Hux reaches for the fastenings that cinch his uniform to his throat. With practiced fingers, he undoes each clasp, revealing ever more of his milk white skin. He’s pleased to see that he has garnered Rey’s attention as well as Ren’s. They watch with unabashed interest as he strips down to his regulation singlet and trousers. Hux leaves the remainder of his uniform folded into a neat pile next to his boots. Feet bare, he steps into the arena.

“Two conditions,” Hux counters.

He circles closer to them but doesn’t fully engage.

“First, no using the Force. Second—” He pauses then assumes the first Echani form of engagement. Hux meets Rey’s eyes before continuing. “You, instead of Ren. Same first rule: no Force. Winner chooses their own bed partner.”

Before the last word leaves Hux’s mouth, Rey strikes two cheap blows against him. She lands a cross to his ribs followed by an opposite elbow across the side of his jaw.

Hux staggers, taking two steps back. He manages to keep his feet. Warm blood and fury fill his mouth with hot copper. He lifts one arm, swipes his injured face across his shoulder. It gives him a moment to gain control of his anger at her sheer lack of formality. She’d given no warning she’d been ready to strike, falling back instead on the gritty street fighting techniques he's been working hard to divest her of.

“Agreed,” she says. “Me against you. Winner takes all.”

To his surprise, she takes a full step back and drops into perfect low stance, hands up in proper guard position. With it, she signals that she’s ready to fight fair. He taught her that. He’s taught her a great many things but he hasn't taught her everything. Not yet.

Hux doesn’t like the fact that Ren hasn’t protested even once. He also hasn't moved away, his presence close and stifling.

“Winner takes all,” Hux says with a thin, bloody smile.

Rey moves first, backing him toward the weapons locker.

“Full melee, then?” he asks, guessing at her intent.

She nods, still urging him back.

“Weapon?” he asks.

“Quarterstaff,” she says without hesitation.

“Crude.”

“Perhaps.”

“And for me?” he asks.

“Not for me to choose,” she says.

Hux stops, the locker within arm's reach. “My choice then?” he asks.

“Always.”

“Very well.” He turns away and, after a brief search, takes hold of a metal staff.

Her eyes are there to meet his when he turns back to her.

He heaves the weapon toward her.

She catches it in one hand and spins it into a two-handed defensive position.

Hux arms himself with a second, identical weapon.

Rey angles her body perpendicular to him. She grips the staff in her right hand, just above shoulder height in a back-hand hold. The bottom of her right foot anchors the staff in place. She reaches out, leading with her left side facing him.

After a formal acknowledgment of his intent to engage, he moves on her. She kicks the staff up, stance wide, and grabs it in both hands. Her staff rises, blocking his first downward attack. She drops low, blocking Hux's counterattack as he swings the bottom of his weapon up.

Both fighters pull back then swing forward, their weapons clashing as they cross at the centre point.

When Hux pulls back again preparing to thrust the tip of his weapon at her, she slides her hands wide across her staff and twists to the right. Before Hux’s weapon can make contact, she swings back left, knocking his aside.

Both weapons begin to spin in the fighters’ hands, Rey retreating across the floor as Hux advances. Four steps back, they stop, clashing again.

Hux pins her staff to the floor then draws back, preparing to swing at her head. Rey ducks low, his staff whistling over her head. When Hux swings from the bottom, she jumps over it then stands tall. With her weapon held in both hands, she plants it directly in front of her body at arm’s length, blocking his counterswing.

She snaps the end of her staff up. The sharp blow knocks one of Hux’s hands free of his. Before he can recover, she disarms him. His weapon whistles away, replaced by the business end of hers pointing at his throat.

“Yield,” she demands.

Her satisfied look tells Hux she thinks she's won. He wipes the look from her face when he seizes her wrist with both hands and pulls. Hux turns into her and drops his shoulder to her solar plexus, giving him a pivot point to launch her off her feet and over his shoulder.

She grunts in surprise as her back hits the mat hard enough to knock the wind out. Her staff rises but there's no power behind it. Hux gains a grip on it with both hands, intent on seizing control of the weapon. He pulls hard, expecting resistance from her. Instead, she catches him off guard, pushing instead of pulling. The unexpected momentum sends Hux off-balance. He lets go and stumbles back.

Before he can recover, she's on her feet. Hux blocks two quick strikes with his bare hands that leave his knuckles aching and bloodied but can't get a grip on her or the weapon. She drives him back until he knows he's almost out of options. Hux _hates_ losing.

Rey lands a bruising hit to his ribs but makes the mistake of leaving herself open for a brief moment. It's all Hux needs to shift the tides in his favour. Before she can react, he lands two quick blows. The second strike sends her teeth cutting into his palm, leaving her bloody and stunned. When she reels back, Hux steps into her space rendering her weapon ineffective. He grips the staff, forcing her to anchor it against the floor then hooks his foot around her other ankle. In one smooth motion, he uses her own weapon to drop her to the mat on her back once more. This time, he retains control of her staff.

Hux sinks, seating his weight across her thighs. Hands in a wide grip at either end of the staff, he presses it longways against her chest, pinning her down. Her fingers curl around the center of the staff but she has no leverage. Rey bucks but can't move him off. Hux enjoys the way she thrashes beneath him, so much so that he feels himself losing focus.

Rey smiles at him, perfect little teeth outlined in crimson. Her hands leave the staff, finding instead the outside of his thighs. She curls her hands up and begins stroking the tops of his legs. Her eyes are fever bright when she grazes her fingertips across the front of his trousers.

“Yield,” he demands even as his traitorous hips roll forward to meet her touch.

She shakes her head, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“No.” Her chest heaves beneath him.

Hux leans harder on the staff, forcing the air from her lungs. The smile never leaves her face. Her insolence infuriates him, makes him want to crush her defiance beneath his boot heel.

“ _Yield!_ ” His anger rises as he feels himself growing the slightest bit desperate.

Her hips rise off the mats, trapping his rigid length between them. She claws at the hem of his shirt as a large shadow falls over them.

The shadow grows arms that thread through Hux's and yank back, immobilising him. The staff clatters away.

Ren's scent overpowers him. He struggles against arms like tree branches, heavy and unyielding. 

“Not so fast, Hux.” Ren's voice is hot and full of promise against his ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you have a preference between the two versions.

**Author's Note:**

> The party's just getting started...


End file.
